The Panthers have beaten the Knights 20-12 despite resting five of their Origin stars in ominous warning to the competition that they have the depth for a third straight title.
“They are a genuine title contenders again,” Mick Ennis said on Fox League.
Newcastle forward Jack Hetherington was binned on the stroke of halftime for lashing out at Izack Tago in a brain explosion, but the result was never in doubt.
The Panthers crossed first through fullback Dylan Edwards after he stepped Kalyn Ponga to score under the posts in the ninth minute.
It came after Ponga left a kick he thought was going dead but it held up and Penrith forced the dropout.
The Panthers turned down a penalty and Edwards scored a few plays later after dancing through the middle of the field.
But Ponga hit back when he threw beautiful cut-out pass to winger Dom Young who then found his skipper back on the inside to score in the 18th minute.
“Beautiful work from Kalyn Ponga. He’s looking dangerous on both sides of the field,” Mick Ennis said on Fox League.
The Panthers scored next when it went through the hands and Tyone Peachey made the most of an overlap to cross in the 26th minute.
Penrith’s third try was especially hard to watch for Newcastle fans. Ponga produced a short dropout and Young got to the ball before throwing it back over his head.
It was rolling towards Dane Gagai but he couldn’t contain it and Peachey pounced to score his second.
“Peachey couldn’t believe his luck,” Andrew Voss said on Fox League.
Hetherington and Tago had their exchange in the 38th minute with the former reacting to minor incident at the ruck.
“That’s a costly mistake,” Ennis said.
The Panthers picked up where they left off in the second half with Jaeman Salmon burrowing over to score out of dummy-half.
Knights halfback Jackson Hastings threw a nice dummy from close range in the 55th minute to score his first try of the season.
“Gee they needed that Newcastle,” Ennis said.
Panthers stars Jarome Luai, Stephen Crichton, Liam Martin, Isaah Yeo and Brian To’o didn’t back up from Origin Game II on Wednesday night.
PREMIERSHIP DEPTH
The Panthers were missing five Origin players yet showed off the club’s depth with a physical and clinical win over Newcastle.
Penrith’s first non-completed set happened in the 52nd minute. There followed Newcastle’s first play-the-ball in the Panthers’ 20 metre zone.
Penrith completed 39 of 41 sets for the match while the Knights were tackled only three times in the Knights’ red zone.
Tyrone Peachey, one of the Panthers’ ‘bargain buys’, scored following an exchange of passing by several members of Penrith’s reserve grade backline.
Peachey, 31, a three-game NSW player in 2018, was over again five minutes before halftime when a Knights drop-out went wrong.
In Nathan Cleary’s absence Jack Cogger looked composed, kicked with industry - including a successful chip for Izack Tago on the first tackle - and fed runners inside and out.
When a tackle on runaway Dom Young saw the winger put a foot in touch, the halfback was mobbed by teammates.
Tago was very good, also, running for 221 metres and folding Ponga with a crunching tackle.
COSTLY SIN BIN
The Knights already had their back against the walls, trailing the Panthers by 10 points with two minutes left in the first half when Jack Hetherington was binned
Hetherington had completed the tackle on Tago before the centre gave his opponent a slight shove and the Knights forward took exception to it.
After viewing the replay, referee Ben Cummins gave Hetherington his marching orders.
“Gives him this one, right across the left earhole and the Bunker and the referee are having none of that, and he leaves his team shorthanded,” Warren Smith said on Fox League.
“That’s poor discipline there from Hetherington. He got a little clip from Tago in the tackle and just lashed out,” Michael Ennis said.
“It was nothing more than a brush from Izack Tago, but he has lashed out has Hetherington.
“He tried to come out to be the enforcer but he has let his emotions get the better of him. That’s a costly one for the away side tonight.”
EDWARDS SHINES AGAIN
The list of the NRL’s richest people has been in the news of late but following another sterling performance by Dylan Edwards, it’s arguable the Panthers fullback tops the list for best value.
The 27-year-old was again an all-running, hot-stepping threat in his team’s win. He attacked bombs, defended without fear and stepped through Kalyn Ponga for the game’s first try.
Edwards added another 190 metres to his season tally of 2778m and remains the game’s leading metre man, nearly 400m ahead of teammate Brian To’o.
After Edwards’ blinder against the Dragons three weeks ago, Panthers coach Ivan Cleary said of the fullback’s claims to a NSW bench spot: “I’ve said this before but if he was called upon, Origin would really suit him.
“He was originally a six, he’s definitely played on the wing and probably in the centres, though he hasn’t played anywhere but fullback for a long time,” Cleary said.
With Latrell Mitchell and Tom Trbojevic injured, it’s clear NSW coach Brad Fittler, a noted left-field thinker, could do worse than Edwards in game three.
- with NCA Newswire
